Lost Rose
by Marc1
Summary: Rosianna Vespertillio is a vampire shunned by the Night World at her high school because of the potency in her blood. She meets her soulmate, and things are bound to happen. A teenage waste with Night World twist.
1. Lost Rose

I'm trying this out, the plots not really worked on, but I know the basic of the story so far in my head. Enjoy, I guess. Please tell me what you think.  
  
Lost Rose - Prologue  
  
They were everywhere. Blood red, soft pink, innocent white, sea blue, and even one as black as shadow. Heady scents filled the air, intoxicating. A gentle breeze stirs and blows the buds, mixing each unique scent to waft the senses.  
  
A girl was curled up in a ball on a cold marble bench in the center of the rose garden. She's wrapped in a giant red plaid blanket, her dull eyes staring at the one black rose.  
  
Since when did roses bloom during winter.?  
  
Roses are the girls flower. One of her many friends had said she was indeed a rose; lovely, beautiful, graceful, yet deadly. Roses have thorns, he had said. Thorns that can snag and leave their mark.  
  
It's said that one read rose is more romantic than many. Would that mean one black rose is deadlier than many? One blade more dangerous than an army? One assassin more cunning than a guild?  
  
The girl was actually not quite a girl. She's an adult, but looking as lost as she did, she looked much younger. As if she were a school girl with her first broken heart, crying on her mothers shoulder.  
  
But in reality, she was a murder, betrayer, back-stabber, cheating whore. Letting herself be taken and used for the thirst of blood. She knew it, was actually obsessed with the thought. She would never deny to killing dozens of men and women.  
  
Just no one had ever asked before.  
  
She knew pain. Desolate pain that ached in her chest and made it hard to wake up each morning, wondering if today would be the day it would all end. Only the thought of warm blood on her hands, heating the ice shard of her heart, made it so much easier.  
  
But today.today was different.  
  
The need to take revenge had not been there when she had woken. It had disappeared, evaporated, just like the scent of the first boy she'd killed. Roses. The smell of them fresh after blooming.  
  
But since her only need to fulfill wasn't there anymore, she now felt worthless. In limbo. Separate from everything and every one. Not that she didn't normally feel like that, but without a will for the day, it had increased. Now it was unbearable.  
  
The wind chilled, and the girl hugged herself tighter. She'd cry if she could, but she knew she was out of tears. There were no more to shed, nothing left to grieve.  
  
Just like a wilted rose, the urge to kill had died. Came, left. With spring it might return, bloom again to its full throttle.  
  
But for now, it was over. She would make sure only one more person would die by her hands.  
  
And that could only be she.  
  
  
  
Review, please. 


	2. Lost Rose 1

Well, here's the next chapter. The one after this should have some action in it. By the way, the prologue was the future. Like, future, goes back to present, then ends in the future again. Yeah. . . anywho. Keep reviewing!  
  
Amy: Here's more! Thanks, that means a lot that you think the prologue was wonderful. : )  
  
Zabella: Want more? Keep reviewing! *big smily face n stuff* I'm glad you like it so far. I hope you like the actual plot as well.  
  
Emmanuelle: I'm glad you like her. No, I didn't take this from personal experience. I don't think I have, anyway. I wrote the prologue a long time ago and found it and started thinking about putting it into and story and yeah.. She is lonely and lost in the prologue.  
  
Lost Rose Chapter 1  
  
Lyrics are from Riddlin' Kids - Wasted Away  
  
~She doesn't feel like she fits in in the small town she lives in. She doesn't think the same and they can tell she's different. No one knows her name. They don't talk to her they pass right by it makes her feel so invisible. She buries her head in books, tries to ignore all the dirty looks, she pretends she is some other person. She's got dreams. She wants to see the world someday if she can ever get out of this place. ~  
  
The last day of school, day 179, was finally there. Students watched the clock intently, impatient for the final hour to pass. Graduation was in five hours. Seniors danced in their seats, screamed excitedly, gossiped loudly about who dumped who for college, or cried and hugged while teachers stared out at their window, knowing that they were going to be at work for more hours than the squealing teenagers.  
  
Rosianna Vespertillio lifted her eyes from the notepad that was covered in lead. Her eyes scanned the older familiar faces of her art class and immediately drifted down to finish sketching the angles of what appeared to be a girl with long dark hair and slanted eyes, a cocked eyebrow and fangs bloodied, a long flowing gown surrounding a slender body. The girl held a body-male-away from her, the neck bent oddly and a patch of skin torn off. Dark smudges of blood dribbled onto the floor.  
  
It was an exaggeration of her-Rose Vespertillio, youngest and most prized daughter of a high placed lamia family. Ageless ruthless blood coursed through her veins and gleamed in her green eyes. Black thick hair and her pale skin made her the cliché vampire of her family, and the only. Her aura around the humans had increased as of late as well, for they seemed to be too intimidated to speak to her. They did not know who the girl was, only that she existed and watched, someone you shouldn't talk to or you'll gain the reputation of being possible of bringing a gun to school. Or a stake. But all the Night People that roamed the human-packed school knew her and would rarely meet her eyes.  
  
When she was younger and still a child, learning the Night World ways on an enclave, her teachers had suggested she was Maya's reincarnation. That thought was quickly demolished when Maya had paid a visit to the Vespertillio's. The original vampire had taken Rose to the more prey filled world when she entered middle school, wanting the girl to know the thrill of hunting wild. Putting her in a small town in California, Maya had left shortly after to rejoin the Night World and speak to Hunter Redfern. Rumors had been heard about Thierry Descoudres' soulmate killing Maya, but there had been no proof. Rose knew it to be true in the lack of dreams Maya used to send her of killing.  
  
Rose watched as her pencil fluidly moved over the paper, shading in the dark hue of blood. Black and white fit this piece well; capturing the gleam of predator color usually dried her eyes of. Capturing time in a single piece, death, and thrill.  
  
The noise coming from her headphones silenced as it went onto the next song, but enough time for a noise to seep into her ears. A loud sob escaped a girl and Rose's eyes snapped up to a cheerleader named Ashley. She seemed the average cliché cheerleader-blonde, big blue eyes, large assets. Her arms were wrapped around another cooler cheerleader. As Rose's telepathy touched the outside of Ashley's aura, she caught hatred, disgust against the girl calming her, and despair. And a picture of the quarterback "letting her move on."  
  
Rose smirked and let her eyes pass over the room once more. She couldn't help it. She wasn't a senior, but becoming a junior, yet she would miss the people around her. She had to admit the mix of these auras of strong-willed humans she would miss, and she wondered how many would die at graduation party by hungry vampires who tried drinking vermin alcohol.  
  
Her eyes caught the teachers, Ms. Renavin. A werewolf aging slowly in her late 30s, Ms. Renavin was easily the most liked teacher at the high school. She seemed to understand the students better and shared much of the same humor. The dark brown eyes looked amused and annoyed, glancing over at the cheerleaders before resuming their place on something outside the window.  
  
Ashyr Cruentare plopped into the seat across from Rose, grey eyes studying her like a scientist. Ashyr was a vampire, lamia to be precise, a lower place than the Vespertillio's, but still a well-known family. He had arrived at the high school a month after Spring Break had ended as a senior, and had received a large reputation since. He had become instantly popular amongst the girls, easy-going and laid-back. He gave the I-don't- care attitude but pulled a 3.9 GPA. Rose had constantly wondered if he had blackmailed the teachers. She disliked the fact that his looks-dark brown hair almost red, and wicked gray eyes-made it impossible to hate him.  
  
A pale hand reached out and snapped the notepad from her grip as she stared dumbly. He had never hinted if he thought her weird or not, and still didn't.  
  
Ashyr's magnetic eyes studied the drawing, absorbing every flaw and shade. After a minute or two of silence, he smiled, flashing white teeth, and handed the paper back to her. "You're skilled, but don't be so blatant at your heritage," he drawled. A darker ring seemed to absorb into the pupil of his eye as he leaned back in his seat.  
  
Rose was silent.  
  
He glanced behind him at the two cheerleaders and smirked. He slanted a glance at her and stated, "That's just disgusting. Who would have thought even Ashley Belenjari could look ugly crying? I feel bad for any guy who decides to take advantage of her."  
  
Rose closed the notepad that was now laying on the table in-between them. "Are you going to feel sorry for yourself? I didn't know that our kind knew how to," she said softly, tones chilling.  
  
Ashyr leaned back in his chair; the back two legs hold him. He crossed his arms and smiled. "I'm special. . .almost as special as our beloved Rosianna." His voice was mocking and his eyes were playful.  
  
She couldn't help but grin. "If I'm special, you're Ed."  
  
"You use human jokes?" he asked, chuckling. "Where's my helmet?"  
  
"Missing since before you lost your brain, I believe," Rose said coolly and smiled.  
  
Ashyr grinned back. "Your friend is that leopard, right? Janice somethingorother. . ." he trailed off before lifting an eyebrow.  
  
"Janice Swift."  
  
"Yeah, her." He absently fingered the bottom of his black shirt and asked, "You going to her party tonight?"  
  
Janice was Rose's best friend, a senior and graduating somewhere in the top of her class. The two girls had met on the first day of 7th grade and they'd been friends since. She was known for having the best parties, even better than the cheerleaders, but secluded. Only Night People were invited, but humans often slipped in and killed as dates or fooling the chunk of werewolf that guarded the front door.  
  
The graduation party was supposedly going to be the best Janice had ever thrown. Even the other high schools in the area were going.  
  
"Of course I am," Rose said, studying Ashyr.  
  
There was another mischievous light in his eyes as he flashed another smile. "I'll see you there, then," he said and stood.  
  
As he walked away, Rose whispered to herself, "See ya."  
  
  
  
The more you review, the more gets out! R/R! 


	3. Lost Rose 2

Yunami the Dragon: It's confusing? Uhm…ok. Sorry about that, then. I hope I don't confuse you too much in this story. Don't hurt yourself when you slap yourself, either. Not rambling, I've done worse. And thanks. : )

~He said that he would tell no secrets, he said that he would never lie, he said that he would spring eternal, he said that we would never die.~ - Jack Off Jill – Rabbiteen

The music could be heard at Rose's house. The thrums of guitars and drums and a voice she could barely hear drifted through her open window a block away from Janice's. 

Rose searched through her closet in her second floor bedroom. Dark clothes were jammed together on hangers that her nimble fingers separated. The urge to care how she dressed had been with her ever since Ashyr had asked if she was going to the party. Before she had watched Janice graduate, Ashyr had been called first. C before S, of course. And as he had walked onto the stage and received his diploma, he had looked up into the audience and Rose could swear his gray eyes had met hers, stayed there for what seemed like eternity until he began walking down the stage and back to his seat. He had looked up at her every once and a while, she had caught, and each time her heart pounded faster. She didn't want to have a crush on Ashyr, but it didn't feel as if she had a choice.

When Janice had walked onto the stage, there had been more claps throughout the stadium than any other person before her and after. It was astonishing to realize how separate the two girls were. One was a social butterfly, Ms. Popular, Untouchable, the other a barely known freak that was too intimidating. One girl with natural blonde hair almost silver and streaks the color of rust throughout her entire head. It fluttered around her face, perfect in every way. Large, icy blue eyes that warmed around those she trusted drew people around her in. She was gravity to humans and looked upon by Night People. The haunting blue in her eyes was visible from all angles of the stadium and she had heard a whisper from Janice parents:

I'm glad she's graduating. I can't believe we've let her be friends with Maya's girl this long. But our little girl is going away and they'll never see each other again.

Rose had been in a slight state of shock since and had tried not to glance at the adults. After the graduation, she had been in a daze and let Janice's parents drag her to dinner in a fancy restaurant. Janice had acted like normal, social child and bringing two girls with her. The witch was a red head with curls and green eyes that were nothing compared to Rose's, named Ivy Maga, and in Janice's grade. The other was a lamia with mink hair and honey colored eyes that people called Dani Brunksi who was a year older than Rose. They had all included her in their conversations as best as they could for the social outcast, but their attempts failed when Rose hadn't reciprocated. Ivy seemed glad but Dani had a disappointed look in her eyes that appeared genuine.

They had all asked if she had wanted to go to Janice's to help set up for the party, but Rose hadn't wanted to be around them and make them more uncomfortable so she had fled to her house to "take a nap".

Half an hour later Rose stood, staring at her mirror. The black mass of her hair fell to her lower back, straight and silky and recently brushed. A black stretchy shirt covered her top, cut low but not revealing and with ties at the shoulder. A black skirt hung from her hips to her ankles and a touch of black eye shadow darkened her eyes to reveal the dark green in all its glory. She looked the part of a cliché vampire indeed, she decided as she slipped on knee-high leather boots. She didn't really mind if the night came to a disaster, as long as she did her hunting. After giving herself another look to make sure she approved, she headed to Janice's house.

The lights from the Swift's house were visible as she walked up the street. The music kept getting louder, if possible, and she could see the bodies of people through the windows and the screams outside of people swimming. It felt like the human parties Rose went to occasionally when she was bored, but the feel of the air felt different. Over the years Rose couldn't find a word to really describe it, but has narrowed it down in her head that if felt powerful. The aura of Night People united in one place.

Rose opened the oak door and watched as a few heads lifted to see who she was. Immediately their heads turned away and continued their conversation. The entryway had two rooms splitting off on each side and then one in front. On one side there was a room filled with couches that bodies were laying on and a vampire, it appeared, sitting next to them and wiping their mouths on the back of their hand. One dark-haired vampire caught her eyes and winked. She looked away.

On the other side there was a large stereo system and TV that was turned on to a football game and on mute. The speakers for the CD player boomed the favored local station and some boys and girls mingled of all species. One female lured a male to the couch room with a twinkle in her eyes and crossed in front of Rose. She side-stepped them and continue towards the kitchen that led a back way into the backyard. 

"Rar!" giggled Janice as she stepped in front of Rose in the kitchen. "Glad you *finally* came," she said jokingly and winked one blue eye. The bright color was lightning caught in a mortal body. The white tigress was known for those eyes.

Rose shrugged one shoulder and smiled slightly. "Where's Ivy and Dani?" she asked, casting her senses to pick up the aura of the two girls. She knew the answer before Janice told her.

"Ivy's in the pool, swimming. Almost nude, but not quite," the 'shifter said dryly, leaning her small frame against the counter. Her silver-blonde hair covered her eyes for a moment. "Dani's talking to some guys out back and making sure Ivy doesn't do too much tonight. Ya know, disappear and get some tattoos on her." 

The vampire laughed slightly and added, "Or somehow ends up in Vegas and eloped with a human."

"Hey, that might be fun," Dani's voice said as she walked through the door to the backyard. "Then we could have a little side-adventure and her human could, you know, *mysteriously* disappear."

Rose and Janice shared a small snicker and grinned. Dani's honey brown eyes gleamed gold and she beckoned the two other girls to follow her back outside.

There were more people scattered in the back yard, some swimming, others clustered at tables, another set hiding in shadows. A keg of beer Janice's mother had bought to keep the humans less suspicious was hidden in a small tent off to the side. Recently emptied cups littered the ground and tables, and other odd places. There was a local vampire rock band playing.__

 Rose spotted Ashyr mingling with a group of mixed genders and heard them laughing. He saw the girls walking towards that direction and his smile widened. "Hey, you three!" he shouted and waved them over. His gray eyes locked on Rose.

Rose slowed down slightly and the two other girls were suddenly side by side. Frowning back at her, Dani grabbed her arm and pulled back in stride. Janice glanced worriedly at her friend and they were at Ashyr's group.

There was a ball knotted in her stomach and she had a feeling tonight was going to change everything in her life.

Review, please! Not that hard to.


	4. Lost Rose 3

Hey people, the more you review, the more I write. I have a lot of the future chapters written but if I don't have a motivation to connect these to the others then it won't happen…yeah, well. Please review!

Falcon – Thanks! I hope you keep reading.

~And I want to fall in love tonight, and I remember when you said, "Everything is going to be all right."~ Seasons – Good Charlotte

A cold shiver crept down Rose's spine as she met Ashyr's day gray eyes. Her mind dug through her memories, trying to recall how she had gotten into one of Janice's many guest rooms with Ashyr, by themselves. Pieces flashed in front of her: a rolling voice, his, saying, "I need to talk to you," and an uncertain nod and a wave to her friends, and then being dragged through the house, up one flight of stairs and into the farthest door at a nod from Rose indicating it was empty and one people wouldn't enter.

What did I get myself into? she groaned at her mind. He wasn't even edible, she mused. No way can I feed off of his blood, that stupid vampire! I should stake him and tell everyone he fell on a pointy object…no, too obvious. But why did I even let myself come up here with him?

And then Ashyr looked into her eyes and she forgot her questions and self-anger. Forgot everything except him. 

His hand reached out, cupped, and whispered, "I barely know you, but I want to kno—" he was cut off as his fingers skimmed the skin on her neck under her jaw, sending their minds into another zone, another place, somewhere that wasn't reality. A plane of existence above mortality, above time.

Blinding silver and maroon shone from every angle, so bright it illuminated the dark shadows and secrets that lurked in Rose's mind. A rainbow of bitterness that had been blocked my years engulfed Ashyr's mind and Rose curiously chased after it. She found a memory lodged deep into the recesses of his mind to be hidden…

A boy, no older than eight, screaming with his hands over his ears. Tears dripping down his pale cheeks leading down from his gray-blue eyes, shouting, "Mommy! Daddy!" repeatedly. Rocking back and forth in his corner that was in the shadows, watching as Hunter Redfern murdered his parents and older brother, Joshua. He was alone now, he realized in the midst of denial and rage. No more big brother to look after him, no one to defend him from the scarring jokes other vampires told about their family. 

"*Daybreakers*," Hunter snarled, twisting back Ashyr's brothers head as a stake rammed into Josh's heart. The vampire looked down at the young boy as he dropped the new corpse, studying him through golden eyes. The red hair was so similar to Ashyr, the feral look in the terrified gray eyes on the boy, so similar to the ruler of the Night World even with the difference in colors.

"What to do with the boy," Hunter stated and not asked, because he wouldn't accept any offer if one of his minions had one anyway. His finger trailed down the jaw of the boy as he tried to flinch away and the golden eyes darkened haphazardly. "Kill him," he purred, the first word an endearment on his tongue, "or let him live and train him in the assassin ways and as a pure vampire."

His daughter, Lily, glared down at the boy and snarled, "Should kill it, it was bred by things worse than vermin."

Anger laced the young boys face and it launched at Lily Redfern, fangs bared. Hunter grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, pulling him away from his daughter and looked at the boy through new eyes as pride drifted through his body. "Live, indeed. He has the instincts of one of the bests," and with those words, he was sent to live on an enclave until he was allowed to experience the human world and entered the high school during senior year. 

Ashyr pulled her out of the memory, glaring at her. "I didn't want you to see that," he said harshly. A predatory glint in his eyes pinned her as his anger washed over her.

"I thought you wanted to get to know me better, so why can't I learn about you?" Rose demanded, backing away from him and trying to escape the hand grasping her shoulder. She pushed him with her palms on his chest and he responded by wrapping her in his arms and pulling her closer. So romance cliché, Rose thought and smirked at her self.

He ignored the question and said softly, "I can't believe people thought you were Maya's reincarnation. That's so…weird. Vampires can't be reborn." With that Rose realized he had seen into her mind as she had seen his. Violation flung through her emotions but was replaced with tenderness towards Ashyr.

"Some people don't know how to respond to something they can't explain," Rose said softly. And then a new thought entered his mind as she watched.

"I'm being dragged back to the enclave in two days," Ashyr stated, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Rose's neck. "I don't have a choice…they're keeping me there for six months to finish my training."

After the shock swept through her she asked, "And what happens after the six months?"

He lifted his head and met her eyes. "I can come back, but they'll always know where I am and they'll always higher me to kill."

Rose smiled sadly and told him, "Then it's not *that* bad…"

Ashyr flashed his teeth at her in a smile and she caught one of the thoughts that drifted through his mind. *We can get through this, we're soulmates…*

The word knocked itself into her mind and it wrapped itself around the word like a cocoon. Something lost and now found, she decided. 

Soulmates, the thought, and looked deeply into his gray eyes. The eyes were warm and not mischievous, tender and not cruel. Ashyr's soul was reflected in his eyes. We only have two days, Rose thought, two days before we're taken away from each other and not being in contact for 6 months. No letters were able to go in or out of an enclave, no phones because they were so old fashion. Just meeting and being taken apart, why was fate so cruel? 

Because fate knows we'll be together again soon, a voice inside her whispered. She knows that we can get around this obstacle with ease.

Rose lifted her mouth to Ashyr's and let herself be lost, because tonight was a night for discovery.

@~`~~,~~

Review, please!


	5. Lost Rose 4

Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Please keep it up and I'll keep it up, and possibly even write longer chapters… Oh yeah, kind of a warning. I have a hidden sadistic side.

Lady Teri – Thank you very much. I'm trying to continue and I hope I can finish this story.

Jamir – It should be kinda interesting…I'm trying to be some cliché but not cliché.

Belle – Here it is! I'm trying to post regularly, and these reviews are reeeeally helping. He's going to go away, but he'll be back one day!

Jenni NW – They're short, I know, sorry about that. It's just that's all I want to happen in this chapter because it's how the plot was kinda planned in my mind. I'll try writing them longer and more detailed…I know very quickly they will get longer. And the story isn't exactly rushed but I do kind of want it to be a short story. And thank you…I hope you keep reading.

Hematite – You know, you're the first e-mail review I have ever gotten…that made me really happy. : ) I hope you keep enjoying this story, because it won't be ordinary.

*I'm not a whore,* Rose thought, staring at the sunbeams that littered the pale red carpet in one of Janice's guest bedrooms. *I'm just…easy.*

Rose hugged the heavy comforter closer and gaze lifted to the closed door. Ashyr had left through that door minutes ago, explaining that one of his friends was going to skin him for being late to the before-sleep spar. Sun had just barely risen before he had left, placing a gentle kiss on her lips before smiling awkwardly. 

But now…self-degrading thoughts drifted through her mind. She had been a virgin 12 hours ago, and then had given it to a male she had met that day. *You are so easy,* a voice inside of her poked her aching head and she curled up around the blanket tighter.

"Rose…?" a girl's voice asked. Gentle footsteps padded their way towards the door. A soft knock. After no response, Rose could define Dani saying, "I know you're in there—and alone."

Rose groaned and lifted the comforter over her face, the warm sheet beneath her pressing into her cheek. Maybe she could fool Dani, she decided. As the door creaked open and shut softly, she realized that her life didn't have that much luck.

"C'mon, you big girl," Dani said and a firm hand gripped Rose's ankle. She gave a small shake and heard a responsive growl from underneath the blanket.

Rose's clothes were thrown on top of the blanket a moment later and a commanding voice told her, "Make it out now before your parents wake up and wonder where their little girl went off to."

Green eyes peaked over the edge of the comforter as Rose informed Dani, "My parents won't care if I don't come home until next millennia. They're too busy fighting all the time."

"Hah, the dead has been awakened," Dani joked, pulling her hair into a sloppy bun. She studied Rose's smile that couldn't be erased and laughed. "Ok, tell me what happened after you too left." A small glance around the room and she added, "Not in detail, I just want to know why you threw yourself at him."

"Well…uh…sort of…" Rose stumbled, not sure on how to explain. Was Dani the trustful type? she wondered. 

A small frown was the reply. "I'm not going to tell Janice or Ivy or anyone unless you want me to," she explained, as if she knew the cause of hesitation. "And I doubt I'd kill you myself, so I think you're safe telling me."

Rose accepted this and nodded slowly, closing her eyes and letting her had drop down into the pillow again. "We're soulmates. I don't know why I chose to do 'it', but it felt right at the time."

"Ah," Dani said knowingly and lifted her chin with mock-pride. "Soulmates, knew it all along," she huffed.

Rosianna's eyes widened with shock and asked, "You did?" in a sharp voice.

Dani gave her another frown. "Don't be so gullible, of course not." After a look from the other girl she laughed nervously. "Maybe I should take my own advice."

"Anyways. He's leaving tomorrow for six months, so I felt that if I didn't then, I would have to wait a long time when just right then felt like the right time."

She snickered, placing her hands on her hips. "I bet it felt right, I mean, it *was* sex…"

A blush covered Rose's cheeks and Dani let loose another snicker. "Will you please leave so I can get dressed?"

"Ashamed of your own body, what a shame," Dani mumbled but left Rose to her privacy.

Rose stared after the girl, shaking her head in disbelief. What odd friends Janice had.

@~`~~,~~

Rose shut the door to her house as quietly as she could, glancing around the entryway and sneaking her way towards the stairs. With the luck she had had that morning; her mom began walking down at the same time with a tanned hand smoothing the polished oak rail.

"Well, well, Rosianna," Sheryl Vespertillio drawled, stopping on the step above her daughter, "Good for you to humble the household with your presence."

Rose met her mothers blue eyes and said quietly, "I stayed at Janice's to help pick up." At an acceptance nod she added, "Surprised you noticed. Knocked Dad out cold this morning or something?"

"I wish," the older woman said immaturely. She shook out her short blonde hair and smiled. "I must be going now, if you don't mind. Please move aside."

As she began to descend the stairs she almost went face-first into Rose. Vampire reflexes stopped her and she snapped, "Get out of my way!"

Rose eyed the remaining three feet on her right and lifted an eyebrow at her mother. "What, too fat and need more than a yard to walk by?"

Red crept up the older woman's face as she slipped through the empty space, mumbling cusswords at her daughter. As she reached for the door handle, she spun back and said, "Oh yeah, there's a boy on the phone for you. It's a good thing I told him you were in the middle of sex or he would get suspicious of how long it had taken for you to get there." With this she opened the door and slammed it behind her, rattling the mirror that was on the wall next to it.

Rose stared stupefied at the door before rushing up the stairs and into her room. She threw the door shut and grabbed for her phone. "Hello?" she asked into the plastic, hoping it wasn't Ashyr while another part demanded it to be.

"Hey," Ashyr's voice purred. "How was the sex you just got out of?"

"With you or the mysterious boy hidden in my closet?" Rose joked lamely.

"Your mom is weird," he said instead.

Rose stared at the burgundy carpet strewn over her floor and sat on her queen-sized bed. "She's a complete bitch," she told him truthfully.

"Ah, she can't be as bad as you think," he said stubbornly.

An awkward silence fleeted between them before he said, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I have to be at the airport by noon or they send assassins after me."

"Oh," was all Rose said, the immediately bit her lip to punish herself for the lame remark and to fight the tears threatening her eyes.

"But tonight Jason, that guy I had to see this morning, is dragging me out to this club," he rushed. "Was wondering if you wanted to go and bring Janice or Dani or something."

"I'll bring both, sure," said Rose quietly.

"As long as you bring yourself."

"I will. So where is this club?" she asked, trying to think of happier things besides him leaving and being out of contact for six months. Half of a year, she thought darkly. 182 days.

Ashyr told her the name, address, and directions while Rose scribbled them down on a piece of torn paper. 

"Be there at 8. You will be there, right?" he asked, and Rose caught an ounce of desperation dripping through his tones.

She promised she would be.

He joked, "If you're not I'll find out where you live and kidnap you while you sleep."

Rose paused. "How did you get my number, anyway?"

"The phone book. Amazing, huh? Everyone's number is in there," he stated, and she caught a smile in his voice. "All those tiny prints—I feel bad for whoever types them."

"Elves, I think."

"Santa's Elves?" Ashyr asked, voice perplexed.

Rose snickered, "Ever realize Santa is Satan, just a little mixed?"

"Have now," Ashyr stated.

Rose smiled.

@~`~~,~~

Review, please! Review, review, review. Thanks… :) 


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